ETC Purchases Vortek Rigging Division Of Daktronics

Aug 01, 2014

ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.) and Daktronics have announced today that ETC has acquired the Vortek rigging division of Daktronics. All Vortek rigging products will be integrated into ETC’s rigging portfolio and operations will be consolidated with ETC’s primary manufacturing locations in Wisconsin by the year’s end.

The transition of Vortek into the ETC Rigging™ family of products will double ETC’s current offerings of stage machinery. They will be able to provide customers with a wide variety of custom-engineered heavy-lift, high-lift and high-speed rigging solutions, which include orchestra shell, grand drape and scoreboard lifts, along with synchronized acoustic panels, and motorized packaged hoists. “On the heels of a successful launch of the new Prodigy P75 Hoist and with the incorporation of Vortek’s engineering expertise, ETC is preparing to open up our solutions for theater systems,” says ETC Rigging General Manager David North.

The company’s acquisition of Vortek will allow ETC to offer advanced rigging solutions for the entertainment market on a national and international level. By building upon the engineering experience of Vortek, ETC also plans to maintain a custom engineering-design center. “We see a great synergy between ETC and Vortek,” says ETC CEO Fred Foster. “The complementary strengths of rigging products as well as the combination of the skills and experience of the two companies will be a great benefit to our customers, old and new.”

ETC will maintain an active, ongoing relationship with Daktronics to continue to provide high-quality hoists and lifts for Daktronics’ scoreboard-system customers. Additionally, ETC plans to provide the award-winning Prodigy® hoists, QuickTouch®, QuickTouch+® and Foundation® controls, along with the Vortek Classic and custom hoists, and the full line of Vortek control solutions.

Vortek’s operations will be integrated with ETC over the next three months. Product manufacturing will be consolidated into ETC’s new manufacturing facility in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, while a design and engineering center will remain in Victor to support custom products, customer support and service. “We are committed to providing a smooth and seamless integration of these two companies,” explains Foster. “The entire Vortek team will be helping us through the transition and we will offer them opportunities to continue to work with ETC in the future.” The company also ensures that Vortek customers will continue to have access to the equipment and services they have come to expect from Vortek over the years.

About ETC
ETC is a global leader in the manufacture of entertainment lighting control systems, architectural controls, spotlights, LED fixtures, dimming systems and automated rigging controls and hoists. Its award-winning products are found in small and large venues worldwide, such as theaters, restaurants, schools, broadcast studios, houses of worship, casinos, museums, theme parks and opera houses. ETC has offices in Middleton, Mazomanie, New York City, Orlando, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Ede (the Netherlands), Rome, London, Berlin and Holzkirchen (Germany), with an additional 250 authorized service centers around the globe.

Daktronics helps customers impact audiences throughout the world with large-format LED video displays, message displays, scoreboards, digital billboards and control systems for sport, business and transportation applications. A USA-based manufacturing company founded in 1968, Daktronics has grown into the world leader in audio-visual systems and implementation with offices around the globe.